Rob Drabkin

"What sets Drabkin apart is his sizable talent as both a singer and guitarist. Lots of people can sing, and lots of people can play guitar, but very few people can blow an audience away with both at the same time. Those that can are now household names - John Mayer, Damien Rice, Dave Matthews. Drabkin is on this level. His crisp voice smoothly blankets his audience with an attentive comfort, and his ability to simultaneously execute complicated guitar riffs is enough to impress the most seasoned musician."--Jesse Walker, Colorado Music Buzz

BIO

The music of Rob Drabkin is spirited in nature, light from the heart and rocking on the six-string acoustic. The first thing you notice about Rob is The Hair. His 70’s style afro is as unavoidable as his ubiquitous grin. But it’s his music that's put him on national tours and landed him sets at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in his hometown of Colorado. Rob and his band have become a force in the live scene, touring nationally as headliners and supporting acts such as John Butler Trio, Trevor Hall and Big Head Todd & The Monsters. Rob's full band performances are high-energy blending improvisation and rock while retaining an earnest singer/songwriter background.

Rob has made impressive creative strides in the past few years, and the new nine-track album shows just how far he's come. With earnestness and originality, Drabkin and his band thrive within stylistic excursions that range from driving folk rock to understated experiments with classical musicians. His powerful vocals and syncopated guitar drive the soaring opener, "For You I Would Die" and his strumming complements top-notch keyboard and percussion work. “Little Steps,” the title track, takes the listener from zero to 60 on the first downbeat as a lively horn section heralds a sophisticated, feel good rock song that would make rob a natural to join Dave Matthews or Paul Simon on stage in the drop of hat.

In 2012 Rob released one of the most unique live albums to come out of Colorado, “Live At The Bluebird Theater 1.19.12” On this particular night, the band released a brand new set of originals as well as a cover of the legendary Paul Simon album, “Graceland” in it’s entirety. The sold-out show generated so much buzz world-renowned Boulder Theater and similar clubs around the country started soliciting Rob to headline. Since then theaters, festivals and Triple A radio stations around the country have caught onto Rob making him a staple in the national scene. He has received multiple invitations to perform live in KBCO along with serious airplay on Sirius XM, Music Choice, KINK, Triple M Radio.

Rob’s life was not always that of a full time touring and recording musician. He attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas where he studied Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Spanish in hopes of achieving an MD/PhD. Music had officially been sidelined as a hobby until he took a life-changing trip to New York with his family. "My Dad played Jazz full time 30 years before he got into medicine. We re-connected with his old musician friends in NYC and it was inspiring to see musicians playing night after night for so many years. I decided that night to drop science, dedicate myself to music, and find a voice of my own. I never sang a note till that night. After school I moved in with my parents, spent every working hour practicing and honed all songwriting skills I could.” After writing enough songs for an open mic set, Rob stormed onto Denver’s music scene, setting his career in motion. He assembled a dream powerhouse band; featuring Brian McRae on drums, Bijoux Barbosa on bass, Eric Moon on keys and Dave Preston on electric guitar. Rob's career is in full motion as his latest effort "Little Steps" prepares him for his next national tour.